B650E-E - "E1", "E2", and "3" USB ports non-functional

[Saturnine]

I'm migrating an existing thread I made here since I've had no luck with that thread and this is a much better location overall, but there are a couple of folks with a similar problem that I had there who had a common cause that does not apply in my case. 

I got a B650E-E system set up in December, and noticed that some of my USB devices weren't working. Normal troubleshooting, I just unplug and replug somewhere else - worked - good to go, moving on.

But lately, as I've added more devices occasionally or moved things around, that certain USB ports just will not work regardless of the device I plug in. I'm on the latest chipset drivers, BIOS is on the 11/18 release, but the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports labelled E1, E2, and 3 (Also, why this naming pattern?!?) all do not work. Haven't had the chance to confirm if the USB-C in the same column has the same issue. (If you're looking at the B650e-e's manual - this is page 2-22, and is the first column of USB ports after the HDMI and DP ports)

The USB controller for these ports is installed and not reporting issues, and all USB ports with these labels are listed and marked active in the BIOS.

- I don't have an NZXT hub or any other device plugged into the additional internal USB header along the bottom of the board, and never have.  (This is based on the solution found in the old thread for two posters; I doubt that many other people are in the same position, but if you are, try unplugging it and plugging it back in)
- I do have front panel USB plugged in for the case, which does seem to work so far.
- I have uninstalled and reinstalled every USB driver
- I have reached out to ASUS support

None of the actions above have resolved the USB problem. ASUS support gave a couple of suggestions from the above list, which I tried again to oblige the request to no success, but their support system has absolutely no persistence so I had to open a new support request every single time my computer restarted, which was necessary for every single troubleshooting task they provided. This meant I had to open a new ticket and the roulette would spin to decide which support technician I got in contact with. They would not attempt to reach out to any prior support tech I had landed on, and would instead re-read the entire case history every time I provided my growing list of support ticket reference numbers. 

The only suggestion Asus has provided at this point is to send my motherboard in for replacement - but obviously a several week turnaround in which I have to disassemble my entire computer and go computer-less for those weeks isn't something I'm interested in doing for the sake of getting half my USB ports to work.

Currently on the most recent non-beta bios (1409), still no change, and I don't expect that there will be any improvement to this issue once the current batch of beta branches shakes out, based on my experience so far.

Anyone else on this motherboard with this issue?

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @Saturnine .

According to your description, you have tested the port located within the red box below.
Have you tried cross-testing it with the port marked within the blue box?

Please refer to How to clear CMOS? and clear the CMOS first.
If the issue persists, could you kindly provide us with the following information:
- the setting in BIOS (or whether it is the default)
- the serial numbers of your motherboard and GPU via pm
- the brand and model name of the CPU, DRAM, GPU, and PSU currently installed
- the OS version and OS build
- the driver version and screenshots related to USB in the device manager
- the brand and models of all devices that cannot be connected to the USB ports
- the circumstances and frequency of problem

Thank you.

[Saturnine]

Hi Jiaszzz, thanks for your reply!

• Settings in BIOS are default, but I have confirmed that the individual USB ports are listed as enabled.
• Will do
• They are:
  AMD 7700x
  G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30
  EVGA 3080ti
  EVGA 1600 T2
• Windows 10 21H2 19044.2846
• USB: 
  • USB Root Hub (USB 3.0) - Driver version 10.0.19041.1202 (4 identical entries)
  • AMD USB 2.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.20 (Microsoft) - Driver Version 10.0.19041.2546
  • AMD USB 3.10 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.20 (Microsoft) - Driver Version 10.0.19041.2546
  • AMD USB 3.10 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.20 (Microsoft) - Driver Version 10.0.19041.2546
  • AMD USB 3.20 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.10 (Microsoft) - Driver Version 10.0.19041.2546
  • 
• I have been primarily testing these USB ports with a Logitech G502 x mouse, and a KBD Fans Odin keyboard for simplicity of testing. Both work essentially immediately plugged into other ports, but are never recognized in the problem 3. I have also tried using one of the ports with a Yubikey.
• This happens 100% of the time to the affected USB ports with all devices I have attempted to plug in. When building my computer in the first place, a significant amount of the troubleshooting difficulty I had would likely have been 'solved' by knowing that these ports are non-functional.

Thanks!

[Saturnine]

Hello! The very latest BIOS released late yesterday - 1413 - solved this issue for me. 

Thank you for your time and effort!

[Homeslice]

I'm going to info dump since I'm a little late to the party here. I've been facing this same issue since I built my system a few weeks ago. Bios 1413 did not fix the problem for me. Similar to others, the ports affected are E1, E2, E3, and 3.

My build consists of a 7800x3D, 3080 10GB, 32GB 6000mhz CL 30 Trident Z DDR5 RAM, 2TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD, Firecuda 8TB HDD, NZXT Kraken elite AIO all set on the ASUS B650E-E motherboard.

On the software side I have updated my bios to v 1413, cleared CMOS and uninstalled and reinstalled all USB drivers. None fixed my problem.

I have 5 devices connected to my internal USB 2.0 ports, a Lian Li stimmer V2 controller, NZXT fan & RGB controller, Kraken elite AIO, NZXT RGB controller and a NZXT USB 2.0 hub.

However while troubleshooting my hardware I've learned the problematic peripheral is not the NZXT 2.0 USB hub but rather the NZXT RGB & fan hub that came preinstalled with my H7 elite case. This is the only device that causes my ports to become functional when disconnected.

• Removing the fan hub and restarting does not fix my USB data transfer issue.
• Removing the fan hub, disconecting the PSU and booting from a cold start will cause my back i/o ports to become fully functional.
• Booting into windows with functional ports and then reconnecting the fan hub allows both the hub and all my back i/o USB ports to function. This will persist between resets for warm starts.
• disconecting the PSU and booting from a cold start with the hub connected will cause my back i/o ports to fail again.

These behaviors apply regardless to how the fan hub is connected to the motherboard. Directly connected, connected through a USB splitter cable, or connected through a internal USB powered hub.

I'm so sick of this ******. Right now I have both a functional back I/o and my fan header connected by using the above method. While this works, I feel like this isn't a problem I should have to troubleshoot on a $350 motherboard. 

[Saturnine]

Thanks for posting - I haven't been restarting my PC as heavily as you have - but I would not be at all surprised if I found that I had the same problem if I did. I also don't have an internal fan hub, which may be making problems worse for you than for me. I have already run into an issue where some of the ports will sometimes disconnect any attached device several times until unplugged and replugged - and I've already moved some devices (in the problem ports) around a couple of times to find a configuration that is more consistently stable.

[Homeslice]

Hmm. With my temporary warm start fix, I've only noticed one or two USB devices quickly dropping connection before being discovered again in a few seconds. This only ever happens right after booting into the desktop, after that all seems stable. 

I'll keep updating BIOS as it rolls out and post here if my problem is permanently solved. Honestly, it could just be that us lot got a couple of bad boards. 😕

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @Homeslice .

May I ask if your fan is connected via the USB port instead of the 4-pin or 3-pin?
Regarding the abnormality with the USB port, we suggest that you refer to Troubleshooting - How to fix USB connection problems for toubleshooting the problem you might having.
If the issue persists, please provide a clear and complete video recording of the problem scenario to help us better understand your situation in detail.

Thank you.

[Homeslice]

Yes, it's an internal fan hub that is powered over SATA and connected through usb. This is the product: https://nzxt.com/product/rgb-and-fan-controller. Regardless, today I swapped my 7800x3d for another 7800x3d as part of my troubleshooting for high CPU idle temps. While this didn't fix my temps I noticed that even after a cold boot all my back io usb ports and my NZXT fan hub worked flawlessly. While I doubt the cpu swap is related to the solution of our problem I felt it was important to note. I did not make any software/bios changes following my last post.

I'm not sure what caused all my devices to function properly so unfortunately I can't give anybody else insight. I'll report back to the thread if I experience any other problems related to usb, such as random disconnects like @Saturnine has experienced.

[Badger8th]

Just wanted to chime in and say I'm having this exact same issue. Bought the Strix B650E-E, top 3 USB ports (red box in the picture above) do not work, along with one on the row below. BIOS version 1413, then later 1414, no effect, still broken. Later, I had to RMA the board because of another issue, and I'm sad to say my replacement board, while otherwise fine, has the exact same problem. Some serious issues with USB quality control here, guys. Guess I'll just wait for another BIOS update.